The rest of the Western Illinois Valley Conference will be hearing plenty about Moore over the next four years, too. Now in eighth grade, Moore, a 6-foot-1 guard/forward, scored the 1,000th point of his junior high school career Monday night.

“He’s going to have to continue to develop his outside shot and become strong with ball-handling,” DeWitt said. “Because when he gets to that next level, I think he’s going to have to turn into more of a guard and play that guard position. With the way high school sports is now, it’s more how fast you can be and how quick you can be. And I think his skill set fits that very well.”

As for now, DeWitt said he’s never seen a better eighth-grade player.

“He’s very talented, especially for an eighth-grader in this area,” the coach said. “In my time growing up around here, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anyone more skilled at this age level. He’s a dominant player inside and out. And he’s really developed his shot this year, too, which has helped him on the perimeter a little bit more, so it’s a little bit more difficult for defenses to guard him now.

“But he’s really come along from the first time I coached him when he was in sixth grade till now.”

Moore went into Monday’s game against Carrollton needing eight points to reach 1,000. He went out and scored a career-high 33 — 15 in the first quarter alone — as Winchester improved to 15-1.

Moore said knowing that he was close to 1,000 points was extra motivation.

“Yeah, it was,” he said. “I was worn out after the game, too.”

In typical fashion, as Moore neared 1,000, he got a rebound, laid it in and was fouled. The free throw was his 1,000th point. “I went to the free throw line and made it, and that was eight,” he said.

Officials stopped the game at the end of the first quarter and gave Moore the game ball. He gave it to his parents, Mark and Rita Moore.

“It felt good,” Moore said.

DeWitt said Moore can do it all on the basketball court. “He does about anything you ask him,” the coach said. “He can score on the inside, he can score on the outside. He does a great job rebounding on both ends of the floor. And one thing I’ve really been impressed with this year is that he’s looking for teammates. There’s been multiple games where he could have had 10 more points than he’s ended up with, but he’s dishing off to other guys, and it’s one of those things where defenses aren’t expecting it because the pass comes so quickly, or he’s the only one that sees that passing lane, and he gets the ball to our guys. And we’ve been fortunate enough so far that our guys are finishing those shots for the most part.”

DeWitt said Winchester’s other players make up a talented team in their own right, and they mesh well with Moore.

“They give me the ball down low a lot, when they can,” Moore said. “Sometimes I gotta call for it. Most of the time, they give it to me. And they give me a lot of assists, too.”

Moore has been working on his outside shooting this season. “It’s getting better,” he said. “It’s not great yet, but it’s getting there.” He thrives around the basket, where his height, strength and agility give him a big advantage.

“I like posting up, mostly,” Moore said, “but I’ve been kind of taking the ball down the court a lot this year, and I’m fine with that, too. But I think I’m pretty good down in the post — better than out there.”

Lately, Moore has been on a scoring spree. He racked up 27 points against Our Saviour on Saturday before scoring 33 on Monday night. That’s 60 points in two games. Moore’s coach said he could score 40 points per game if he wanted to, but he’s not a selfish player.

“He’s one of those kids — it doesn’t matter who the coach is,” DeWitt said. “He’s going to play hard, and he’s going to do what you ask him to. He’s just a well-rounded basketball player at this age.”

DeWitt said he couldn’t wait to coach Moore when he was in the sixth grade. Now he’s looking forward to what Moore can do at the next level.

“He’s so skilled in so many different areas that at this age level, he can create about any shot that he wants to,” the coach said. “It’s very nice. It makes coaching a lot easier, especially when you have a player with that type of talent.”